1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fixtures for mounting to ceilings, walls and other supports. More particularly, this invention relates to bracket assemblies that facilitate mounting of lights, ceiling fans and other fixtures to supports such as wall or ceiling-mounted electrical receptacle boxes.
2. Description of the Background Art
Presently, there exists many types of fixtures that are designed to be ceiling or wall mounted. Typically, lights, ceiling fans and other fixtures are mounted over electrical receptacle boxes installed within the wall or ceiling such that the wiring of the fixture may be easily connected to the household wiring contained within the electrical receptacle box.
Various brackets have been designed for facilitating the mounting of lights, ceiling fans and other fixtures to electrical boxes. The most common type of bracket consists of a mounting plate having holes that are dimensioned and aligned with the standardized threaded holes of the electrical receptacle box. Unfortunately, prior art brackets are often configured in such a manner that the bracket must first be mounted to the electrical box and then the fixture mounted to the bracket, both through the use of screws or other threaded fasteners. Consequently, there presently exists a need for a quick-install mounting bracket that facilitates the quick and easy installation of lights, ceiling fans and other fixtures to an electrical box installed within a wall or ceiling.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the wall or ceiling mounting bracket art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a bracket assembly for allowing a fixture such as a light fixture to be easily mounted to a support, such as an electrical box flush with the wall or ceiling in which the electrical box is installed, a ceiling fan switch housing, or other support.
Another object of this invention is to provide a quick install, flush-mount bracket for lights, ceiling fans and other fixtures having one subbracket mounted to the support and another subbracket mounted to the fixture, with such subbrackets being easily coupled together such that the fixture may be easily mounted to the support.
Another object of this invention is to provide a quick-install, flush mount bracket for lights, ceiling fans and other fixtures that includes a first subbracket that may be mounted to or made integral with the electrical box serving as a support and a second subbracket that may be mounted to or made integral with the fixture with such subbrackets being easily coupled together such that the fixture may be easily mounted to the electrical box flush with the wall or ceiling.
Another object of this invention is to provide a quick-install, flush mount bracket for lights, ceiling fans and other fixtures that includes a first subbracket that may be mounted to the ceiling or wall and a second subbracket constructed integrally with or attached to the fixture with such subbrackets being easily coupled together such that the fixture may be easily mounted to the ceiling or wall.
Another object of this invention is to provide a quick-install, flush-mount bracket for lights, ceiling fans and other fixtures that includes a first subbracket that may be pre-installed with the electrical box during construction and another subbracket that may be installed with the fixture, possibly at the factory during manufacture, such that the fixture can be easily installed without any particular expertise or tools on the part of the consumer.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
For the purpose of summarizing this invention, this invention comprises a quick-install, flush-mount bracket assembly for lights, ceiling fans and other fixtures. More particularly, the bracket assembly of the invention is designed to facilitate the quick installation of a fixture to a support such as for connecting a light, ceiling fan or other fixture to an electrical box installed within a wall or ceiling in such a manner that the fixture is mounted flush with the wall or ceiling. The bracket assembly may be incorporated into interconnecting components such as for interconnecting a light kit to a switch housing of a ceiling fan.
The bracket of the invention comprises numerous embodiments, each including complementary male and female subbrackets. One of the subbrackets is configured and dimensioned to be mounted to the threaded mounting holes of an electrical junction box (the spacing and thread of which are standardized throughout the industry). The other subbracket is configured to be mounted to the light, ceiling fan or other fixture. The subbrackets are complementarily designed to be quickly fastened together such that the fixture may be quickly and easily mounted to the electrical box flush with the wall or ceiling in which the box is installed.
The invention""s subbrackets may be sold as a kit and included with the fixture or sold separately for use in conjunction with existing fixtures. Alternatively, the subbracket connected to the fixture may be pre-installed at the factory during manufacture of the fixture. Similarly, the subbracket to be mounted to the electrical box may be pre-mounted to the electrical box at the factory, or before, during, or immediately after construction of the wall or ceiling. In this manner, once the construction is completed (i.e., drywall installed and painted), the fixtures may be quickly and easily installed without any special expertise or tools.
It is noted that for the purposes of the following description and the claims, the subbrackets may be respectively integrally formed with the fixture and/or the electrical box to thereby eliminate the need for having separate components that must then be assembled together and therefore all references to subbrackets encompass being so integrally formed as well as being a separate component.
The invention further comprises an embodiment that is particularly adaptable for use in connecting ceiling fans to electrical box receptacles in ceilings. In this embodiment of the invention, the male subbracket is adapted for connection to a hanger bracket connected to the ceiling fan that allows the ceiling fan to be suspended from the female subbracket to facilitate wiring, and then pivoted upwardly into full assembly through the complementary interconnection of the male subbracket into the female subbracket.
Finally, the male and female subbrackets of the bracket assemblies of the invention may be adapted for use for interconnecting a variety of fixtures to a support, such as for example, allowing a conventional light kit to be easily installed to the bottom of a conventional switch housing of a ceiling fan.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood so that the present contribution to the art can be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.